SCORE Tips for Starting a Business

If you have ever wondered how to really start your own business, but did not know where to begin, SCORE, a nonprofit association dedicated to helping SMBs get off the ground, has created a helpful workbook that is now available at its 340 offices across the country and via a digital format that can be downloaded.

Starting a company can be intimidating. “How to Really Start Your Own Business” covers topics ranging from testing your business idea to creating a plan, structuring your company, and building a successful team.

The guidebook offers tactics to help aspiring entrepreneurs increase their knowledge of cash control and tips on how to go about funding a business. It looks at vital topics, including How to:

Define your business and your market niche

Test your idea (conduct market research)

Find the right location

Negotiate leases and business purchases

Protect a copyright/logo

Create a business plan

Choose a corporate structure

Secure funding and comply with financial regulations

Build a team

Understand a financial statement and project cash flow

My company is co-sponsoring the series “How to Really Start Your Own Business,” which will presented by SCORE mentors and business experts Julie Brander and Steve Bloom. They will offer webinars Tuesday, August 13, and Tuesday, October 8, 2013. Registration is free for any of these SCORE webinar events at http://www.score.org/onlineworkshops.

Since 1964, SCORE has helped more than ten million aspiring entrepreneurs. Its mentors, often retired executives looking to help people who are just starting their businesses, offer advice for all stages of company development. On an annual basis, the organization provides small business mentoring and workshops to more than 375,000 new and growing companies. SCORE has an army of more than 12,000 business experts volunteer as mentors in over 340 chapters serving local communities across America.

For more information about starting or operating a small business, call (800) 634-0245 to find the nearest local SCORE chapter. You can also visit www.score.org and connect via Facebook www.facebook.com/SCOREFans and Twitter @SCOREMentors.

E.J. Dealy is CEO of The Company Corporation, the small business unit at Corporation Service Company® (CSC®), which incorporates tens of thousands of new businesses annually and provides ongoing compliance services to 200,000 companies located throughout the U.S. The Company Corporation does not provide legal or financial advice.